Inside Line: Stan’s NoTubes debuts new Bravo carbon wheels

Carbon fiber has come to dominate the high end mountain bike market when it comes to frames and components, and more and more brands are using it in wheels as well. Stan’s NoTubes first molded its Bead Socket Technology design in carbon last year with the cross-country and race oriented Valor wheels, which we were impressed with in our testing. Now the same technologies are being adapted for trail and all-mountain use with the new Bravo model.

With an inner width of 26.6 mm the Bravo rims aren’t as wide as many competitors, but NoTubes points out that bigger isn’t always better. It claims that its sidewall shape offers many of the benefits of the wider rims, specifically increasing the tire’s overall volume, without exposing the sidewalls or deforming them in ways they were never intended to.

Stiffer isn’t always better either, said NoTubes’ Michael Bush. While the concept of “laterally stiff/vertically compliant” has long been a cliche, NoTubes is proud that its carbon wheels offer competitive lateral stiffness while still allowing for up to 10 mm of vertical compliance. This deflection improves ride quality and increases speed, Bush said. The Athertons have been racing the Bravo rim design with a different “team-only” carbon layup this season with good success.

The Bravo rims will be available in complete wheels, built in New York, in July, in 26-inch, 27.5 and 29-inch sizes. The two price points are $1,575 and $1,900 depending on the hub spec.

Neo hubs

Also new this year is an all-new hub design that will phase out the 3.30 hubs the brand has used for years. As axle widths and dimensions have expanded and freehub bodies have changed, NoTubes realized it was time for a clean-slate design overhaul.

While the 3.30 hub shells are forged, the new Neo hubs are CNC machined from bar stock for tighter tolerance control and more adaptability—in case someone dares create a 153.5 mm “standard” in a year or two! The front hubs will be available in 100 mm or 110 mm, while the rears will be available in 135/142 as well as Boost and even 157 mm downhill versions. No 170 mm or 190 mm fat bike hubs yet, but it wouldn’t be difficult to do, Bush said. While the end caps are still interchangeable between thru-axles and quick release skewers, the interface has changed for better retention, so they’re not as likely to fall off on their own.

Also new are much larger bearings (6902 replacing the 6802) and a new four or six-pawl freehub body design. The standard Neo hubs use a 4-pawl driver with a 36-tooth ratchet ring for 10 degrees of engagement, while the high-end Neo Ultimate version has a 6-pawl driver for 5 degrees of engagement. All the pawls engage simultaneously for strength and durability, and the two freehub bodies are interchangeable, so you can switch from four to six when if you were to swap to a SRAM xD driver, for example.

The Neo Ultimate also sheds weight with a more heavily machined axle, shell and other pieces, and is available in a matte finish to better match the carbon rims. The freehub body is also silver to differentiate the models.

Both the Neo and Neo Ultimate will eventually replace the 3.30 hubs in all NoTubes wheels later this year.

Correction

The internal width of the Bravo rims is 26.6 mm. An earlier version of this post had an incorrect measurement.

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